The Orange Bowl Fallacy: Why FSU Football Doesn't Need To Prove Anything

Debunking the argument that Florida State needs to win against Georgia on Saturday.

As people tune in to ESPN at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, there will be some who believe that the Florida State Seminoles have a chance to “prove to the Committee” that they were originally worthy of the College Football Playoff with a win over the Georgia Bulldogs.

What an absurd thought process that is.

After a Playoff snub, recruiting blunders, and an insane number of opt-outs, Florida State fans have dealt with what seems like a never-ending cycle of bad news. Gut punch after gut punch.

The fans and the team itself have been patronized by clueless pseudo-pundits who somehow think that winning the Orange Bowl and “sticking it to the Committee” is in any way equivalent to having a chance to compete for a national championship.

This way of thinking is asinine and void of logic for three reasons:

FSU Football vs. Georgia Bulldogs: Kickoff Time, TV Channel, and Odds

1) It assumes that after doing everything right in order to impress a committee that eventually disregarded their accomplishments, FSU would still be concerned with impressing said committee.

2) It assumes that the Orange Bowl will be a game between the 2023 FSU squad and the 2023 UGA squad. 10 or even five years ago when players didn’t opt out and the transfer portal wasn’t where it is today, it would be. However, there have been over 50 players from both teams combined to either transfer, get hurt, or opt out in pursuit of the NFL Draft.

3) Using the Committee’s logic, winning all of your games isn’t the most important set of criteria. Therefore, why does it matter if FSU loses to UGA or not? It might prove something to the average fan across the country, but it apparently will not prove anything to the Committee, whose opinion is the only relevant opinion (regrettably).

To many FSU fans, a win against Georgia could very well be a double-edged sword.

It would serve as a temporary pain reliever; a Tylenol that works for only a day or two against a migraine that has raged on for almost a month. Do not forget that it is your last Tylenol before you receive 12 more in nine months. And the worst part is, a win against Georgia might alleviate the pain for the FSU faithful, but when its effects wear off, the pain is just as bothersome, if not worse than before, as it would be more evidence of the team’s worthiness.

Fans around the country pay their hard-earned money to attend a game in person. They appropriate hours of their day watching it on TV. When viewing for the first time, they are not watching to see a certain team win; they are watching to see if a certain team is going to win.

The greatest thing about sports is we do not know how it is going to end. Ever. Do not let anybody tell you differently because there is no way of knowing.

Vegas wasn’t built on people knowing how things end.

Finally, those who care about Florida State athletics need to be careful how they address this game. Every game is important for the program, of course. Win, lose, or draw. As such, the Orange Bowl is important not only for the development of players for next year but also for the University, the athletic training staff, the equipment staff, the recruiting staff, the video staff, the alumni, the students, and the fanatics around the globe, etc.

But in terms of whether this team wants to prove anything to anyone, this game means as much as they want it to. However, as we have already established, they do not need to prove anything to anyone.

If you are a Florida State fan, then by all means watch the game and support the team. But win or lose, this game doesn't mean anything because the Committee said so.

Isn't their word the most important?

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